His first flirtation with fame came in 1969 when his single Space Oddity was released to coincide with the first moon landing. A failure first time out, it later became a UK hit record. His first album, The Man Who Sold The World (1970), rejected the acoustic guitar sound of Oddity replacing it with the [heavy rock]? backing provided by long-term collaborator Mick Ronson. (The title track provided an unlikely hit for UK pop singer Lulu?, and would later be recorded by Kurt Cobain's Nirvana.) His next record, Hunky Dory (1971), saw the partial return of the fey pop singer of Oddity, with light fare such as the droll "Kooks" and "Oh You Pretty Things" sitting along side the verbose philosophising of "The Bewlay Brothers". Lyrically, Bowie also took the time to pay tribute to some of his influences, on "Song for Bob Dylan", "Andy Warhol" and "Queen Bitch" (dedicated to The Velvet Underground). Supported by another hit single in "Life On Mars", Hunky Dory sold tremendously well and lifted Bowie into first rank of stars.
His hit singles include Space Oddity, Ziggy Stardust, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes and Let's Dance.